


Stories of the Second Self: Remember By Firelight

by John_Steiner



Series: Alter Idem [145]
Category: Urban Fantasy - Fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:42:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22706398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/John_Steiner/pseuds/John_Steiner
Summary: In Year Zero of Alter Idem Candice Ibarra transitioned from human to werewolf. However, her enigmatic power of pyromancy had been gifted to her three years prior. Once detained as a potential threat of mass destruction, she had been released due in no small part to Dr. Paul Appelbaum. Since then, she accepted the giant mythology professor's tutelage in exploring the full scope of her gift. One night, Paul asks Candice to engage in a rite while burning photos of people so that she can tap into who they were. One spirit reaches out through Candice.
Series: Alter Idem [145]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1618813





	Stories of the Second Self: Remember By Firelight

It was no overstatement that many people the world over had weird stories after Alter Idem, Candice Ibarra knew. However, she was pretty sure her own counted rather high in the bizarre. This gift, as the giant named Dr. Paul Appelbaum had called it, back when the Ohio National Guard detained her in Columbus, came to her three years before the world knew that the supernatural became real.

A few months before that mass shooting, and The First among werewolves was revealed in the news, Candice also started to notice physical changes in herself.

Candice's hair grew thicker and started coming from the sides and back of her neck just as lush. Her musculature improved, though she had to eat more. Her sight changed to where Candice could pick out subtler movements, with hearing and smell heightening as well. For the first time Candice had turned while asleep, and then awoke in the middle of the night not recognizing her own body.

She learned months later that it meant she was a werewolf, and it was unrelated to her peculiar pyromancy. She found that writing onto something and burning it made it happen. More or less.

After the occupation ended, Dr. Appelbaum helped her enroll into a project at the University of Cincinnati, where he tutored her in her talents. His own gift was different, and he described his array of powers as the Jewish Tree of Life. Yet, he knew a lot more than just his own religion, and was guiding Candice to better understanding what she had.

Like so many days before for a couple of years, Candice rode the last bus of the day out to the university and walked across campus to the building Dr. Appelbaum's office was in. This time, however, he wasn't in and instead left a post-it on the door for her.

Following the note's directions, Candice headed out to the Campus Green north of French Hall. She found Dr. Appelbaum out there alone. The entire four years she knew the giant rabbi and mythology professor, and the two years she studied with him, he always proved kind and gentle, so she had no qualms about meeting him alone out here.

Though, she was surprised by what he had set up, and asked him about it, "What's all this?"

"It's fire brick," Dr. Applebaum answered, "also I found some artifacts and clothing for this ritual I think you would be best suited to carry out.

He'd set out a brick floor of sorts with more bricks arrayed into a ring. Candice guessed it was for a fire she was suppose to start and control, though she wondered about his choice of setting it up between a few groups of trees.

Candice went over to the table to pick up one circlets of flowers and the small ring of beads. "There's something old about these."

"Ahh," Dr. Applebaum paused before admitting, "Yeah, that's right. The bolts of cloth too, though, I'll understand if you're not comfortable with this."

"Grecian," Candice remarked on running her hand over the earthly brown cloth, which she noted had a few singe marks. "How did this happen?"

"It was in Columbus," Dr. Applebaum replied, waving at the cloth. "You remember when the 52nd CST had you in detention, and we talked about the Gaia Cult? This was worn by one of them. The rest of those things also. I have a copy of a photo of the woman whose photo I want you to burn while thinking about what sort of person you think she was."

"Was?" Candice's ears perked up at that. "Did she die?"

"No one knows for sure, but I'm pretty sure she did," Dr. Appelbaum said, "We think she was a major figure in the Gaia Cult, just not in a leadership position."

"Okay," Candice agreed readily, and scooped up the many bolts of cloth.

Candice had a suspicion that somehow she'd know the proper wait to wear the cloth and circlets. Dr. Appelbaum escorted her to the Athletic Center, where she went inside alone to find the woman's locker room and change.

She hadn't planned on taking so long, but Candice imagined a sagely voice whispering to her how to pay reverence while wrapping each stretch of fabric over her features. Strangely, the cloth shifted of its own accord to barely cover her chest, yet it didn't seem like it would slide off easily, as though actively adhering itself to her.

After being satisfied with the arrangement, Candice placed on her head the largest wreath of flowers, which still felt and smelled freshly gathered. She put another on around her upper right arm. Experimenting, she tied one lone blossom near the end of a lock of her brunette hair. She slid on a woven cloth band two thirds up her right forearm and, after put on all the leather bracelets.

Once feeling it was right, Candidate left the locker room and went back outside. Dr. Appelbaum's face shifted when he saw her, and Candice saw in his expression that he was near-breathless in being captivated by how she looked. Though, she could tell he was staying wholesome in his appreciation of her appearance.

They went back to the hearth that Dr. Appelbaum had set up, and he passed over to her photos of Scioto Audubon Metro Park in Columbus. Candice saw that the place was in ruins with craters all over. Precious little remained green, and Candice felt a heartache that wasn't her own.

"Whenever you're ready," Dr. Appelbaum prefaced, and pointed to the photo in Candice's left hand as he added, "Start with that one."

Candice looked at the photo of a shattered climbing wall, where there were was a stone and a huge bronze bowl stained with black smoke. Letting her power out, Candice watched flames spread from where her fingers held the photo, and then she placed the burning image into the hearth. As the details seared away Candice saw them in her mind. When the entire photo was blackened she could practically see herself standing in the scene.

"Her name is Ladonna," Candice said, seeing the nighttime setting as though through the Fae elder's eyes. "She's expecting someone evil, but she's not afraid of him. Ohh! He's a vampire."

The first glimpse of those solid obsidian eyes had caught Candice's breath in her throat before she named what Pentacaste of person had arrived.

"Describe him," Dr. Appelbaum bid of her.

"He's wearing a white suit," Candice then chuckled at his out-of-place appearance. "but he’s barefoot. He's holding a sword in a sheath. His hair is in dreadlocks with gold caps at the ends."

"Okay, that's enough," Dr. Appelbaum said with a hint of concern he tried to keep out of his voice. "There's more, but you don't have to go through it. It... it's unpleasant."

Taking his word for it, Candice broke herself free of the spell by forcing the fire out, a fire that kept burning even after the photo was turned to ash. Candice went through other images in similar manner; sometimes seeing soldiers patrolling through the shattered city, and other times from when the Gaia Cult held near uncontested control over Columbus.

"Okay, I think we're ready for this one," Dr. Appelbaum said, and passed over the last photo.

Candice saw that it was an aerial view, but noticed a large gathering of people around and in a pool in the same park. One in the middle caught her attention immediately for the fact she wore the cloth now adorning Candice herself.

However, the other woman was painted, Candice could see in the surprisingly high resolution images, and she thought some of that paint formed characters or glyphs of some kind.

As before, Candice allowed her fire to leave through her touch onto the image. Then, she felt something rush over her. Not images of the past, but a presence in the here and now. The central woman in the photo rose up into the flames and stared up at Candice.

Unable to look away, but overcome with a serene calm, Candice spoke as soft as an early autumn breeze, "I am Yasmin. Why do you seek me out?"

Dr. Appelbaum seemed ready for this. "What happened to Ladonna?"

"Her soul has been indentured," Candice answered with words and tonal inflection not her own.

"Who did this?" Dr. Appelbaum asked, "Who took her soul?"

"You already know," Candice relayed the will and words of this Yasmin.

"Papa Delane Henry?" Dr. Appelbaum named the undead man, from whom Candice felt had great power when he approached Ladonna.

"He came for me," Candice revealed to herself as much as Dr. Appelbaum. "But my soul isn't for the taking. I bound myself to Gaia. To the Earth. It was the only way."

"Did you start a new following in Cincinnati?" Dr. Appelbaum asked the Yasmin's essence. "Were you going to force the city to return to nature?"

"Force?" Yasmin's spirit spoke with softness and fluidity through Candice. "No. Ladonna was wrong to impose Gaia's will. Wrong to declare what should or should not be natural. I let them reach out to me when their inner selves were ready."

"Who's them?" Dr. Appelbaum inquired, something of an interrogator's tone seeping into his voice. "These people who reached out to you?"

"Anyone," Yasmin vague words poured through Candice's reply. "Those who could not or wished not to live trapped in your modern living. Lost souls looking for their true purpose in harmony with Gaia."

"Can you name them?" Dr. Appelbaum pressed for more.

"I will not," Yasmin refused through Candice, as she saw increased flicker in the fiery facsimile of the woman she knew to be bodily dead but very much alive in all living things.

"Please," Dr. Appelbaum begged, his features softening with sympathy. "They may need help and protection."

"They have both in me," Candice's voice relayed Yasmin's cryptic answer. "Your power of Kabbalah isn't suited for them. Just as Gaia's grace isn't ideal for yourself. Neither are wrong, just different."

"Okay, Candice," Dr. Appelbaum addressed her instead of the spirit of Yasmin. "You can let go and come out."

As it extinguished, the flaming effigy of Yasmin seemed to lift off the smoldering remains of the imagine, now crumpled in Candice's hands. She came to and shook her head, before giving Dr. Appelbaum a bewildering expression. "Spirits are real now?"

"I had a feeling they became so," Dr. Appelbaum nodded, "Apparently, we have whatever afterlife we want. Uhh, I think that's enough for tonight. If you want, I can drive you home."

Without warning, tears streamed down Candice's face. Yasmin felt like such a pure kind spirit, and yet Candice knew she needed death to escape the grasp of whoever Papa Delane Henry turned out to be.


End file.
